Seth Thornton

Lead Pastor / Elder

Seth grew up in the Texas Hill Country on a ranch near Llano, TX. While playing collegiate golf at the University of North Texas, Seth came to faith in Jesus Christ and began serving and growing in his faith at Denton Bible Church.

After graduating from UNT, sensing the Lord’s call to full-time ministry, Seth attended Dallas Theological Seminary while serving on staff at Denton Bible. Since graduating from DTS in 2002, Seth served as a full-time Student Pastor in central Houston for almost ten years and then helped plant and serve as a Pastor & Elder at a growing church on the west side of Houston for seven years. Seth has been serving as the Lead Pastor of C3 since 2019.

Seth & Melanie have been married since 2002 and have three children: William, Claire, and Samuel. Outside of ministry, Seth enjoys spending time with his bride and kids, playing golf, working out, and just about anything that involves being in the great outdoors.

Kent Turner

Family Ministries Pastor

Jim Cone

Executive Director

Jim and Laran Cone have been members of C3 since late 2013. They are blessed with a growing family that includes their children, in-laws, ten grandchildren ranging in age from 3 to 21, and their beloved little King.

Jim spent most of his time from early childhood in the Presbyterian church until during a difficult season, he stepped away from church life, realizing in hindsight that although he was outwardly engaged in Christian activity, he lacked a genuine, personal relationship with Christ.

In time, God graciously intervened. Through the steady work of the Holy Spirit, Jim came to know the depth of God’s grace and developed a deep passion for the redemptive work of Christ and the authority of Scripture. Jim credits his wife Laran for her Christlike care for others and for walking faithfully alongside him, as well as the constant support of his family throughout this journey of faith.

Jim is deeply committed to the study of Scripture and is an avid follower of Ligonier Ministries. He firmly believes in the infallibility and inerrancy of the Bible and that all of Scripture ultimately points to Jesus Christ. He holds that the Bible tells one unified story—of one King, redeeming one people through the cross, and ultimately restoring all of creation. Jim often notes that the more Christlike we become, the more clearly we see our ongoing need for grace.
Jim has been an elder of C3 since 2018, and effective November 1, 2025, he joined the staff as Executive Director.

He considers it an honor to serve the church and would much rather serve than be served, giving all glory to our mighty and loving God as he serves alongside the C3 family.

Luke Lengl

Worship Leader/Director

Luke is an East Texas native and has lived in the Greater Houston area since 2010. Luke’s love of music was instilled at an early age by his great grandmother Arlene, who would record traditional gospel songs with him on her cassette recorder when he was only 4 years old. As Luke has grown in his faith over the years, he has realized the important role that music has in the life of every believer, not only through expressing adoration, thanksgiving, lamentation, and confession to God, but also catechizing and reminding believers of the truths of who God is, what the Gospel of Jesus Christ means, and who we are as His children.

With over two decades of experience leading worship for church congregations, collegiate ministries, and youth groups, Luke has a passion to see God’s people worship through music. It is his prayer that believers “be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Ephesians 5:18-20)

In addition to leading C3’s team of musicians and worship leaders, Luke also has a passion for writing original songs (and reworking traditional songs) for congregational and personal worship that are both Biblically rich in substance and musically modern in style. In the fall of 2024, Luke launched a music project called Lux Eternal to record and share these songs with others. Find out more about Lux Eternal here: https://luxeternalmusic.com

Luke met his wife and best friend, Sammantha, when they were attending Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, TX. After marrying in 2011, the two moved to the Woodlands. Luke and Sammantha have been members of Christ Community Church since 2014 and are grateful to call C3 their church home.

Taylor Hansen

Communications & Media Director

Taylor has been married to her husband, Adam, since 2022, joyfully walking through life together as she embraces being a proud military wife and mom to two wild, energetic boys. Rooted in faith and family, Taylor seeks to serve the Lord wholeheartedly in every aspect of her life, believing that worship extends far beyond the walls of the church and into the rhythms of everyday living.

Originally an artist based in Nashville, Taylor spent years immersed in the creative world of singing, songwriting, and releasing original music while building a diverse artistic portfolio. Those formative years not only sharpened her creative voice but also laid a strong foundation in social media and marketing—skills she now uses to help amplify meaningful messages and connect people to purpose.

An avid lover of the outdoors, travel, and an active lifestyle, Taylor finds joy in CrossFit, adventure, and creating a welcoming home. She has a deep love for cooking and homemaking, viewing them as beautiful expressions of care and hospitality.

Taylor is passionate about serving within the church community, joyfully serving on the worship team and in kids ministry. She has been especially grateful for the opportunity to serve on staff, where she creates media, plans events, and stewards creativity in a way that allows the Word of God to reach as many people as possible. For Taylor, every role—seen or unseen—is a privilege, and her heart remains centered on faithful service, creativity, and devotion to Christ.

Brent Stanfield

Lay Elder

Brent and his wife Jessica moved to The Woodlands from Nebraska in 2005.  Brent has practiced law in The Woodlands since 2006 and owns his own law firm, Stanfield & Dupre, PLLC.   Jessica works in sales for a transportation company.  Brent and Jess have three children, Julianne, McCoy, and Rhett.

Brent and Jess attended an Acts29 church in The Woodlands prior to joining the C3 family as its Executive Pastor in 2014.  Brent served as the Executive Pastor from 2014 until 2017 when he opened Stanfield & Dupre.  Brent has been an elder at C3 since 2014.

Brent came to Christ at a young age and was baptized on Easter Sunday at age 5 while his family was stationed in Guam.  Growing up in a great Christian home, Brent’s faith was strengthened significantly while in law school at the University of Nebraska when he discovered the ministries of RC Sproul, Albert Mohler, and John Piper.  Brent has served in various capacities at C3, including as a pastor on staff, an elder, road crew, C3 children’s ministry teacher, a community group leader, and teaching various classes and bible studies.

Jim Cone

Lay Elder

Jim Cone was born a long time ago in a galaxy far away, but only a couple of years before color television. He is the eldest of three children raised in a loving military home.

Jim and Laran have been members at C3 since late 2013. They have three sons, a daughter, three daughters in-law, a son in-law, and their beloved little King. They have six grandsons and one grand daughter.

Jim was baptized at the age of ten at Calvary Presbyterian Church in California where he had attended Sunday school from the age of five. He was a member and involved in leadership at Northwoods Presbyterian Church on 1960 through most of the eighties but fell away from the church due to a lack of “support” during difficult times. Although Jim was going through a lot of the right “Christian” motions, he did not have a real relationship with Christ – until years later when God intervened.

God was always there, always guiding, protecting and loving. The Holy Spirit infused Jim’s heart with His immeasurable grace and a passion for the redemptive work of Christ and the holy scripture. Jim credits his loving wife Laran for her inspiring care for others, and the constant support of his family through this journey of discovering and realizing Gods pursuit of him.

He does not have a masters degree in theology, divinity, or religious studies, but is a huge fan of RC Sproul/Ligonier ministries. Jim believes in the infallibility and inherency of the holy scriptures, and that Jesus is the only point of the Bible. The bible is one book, telling one story, about one king, coming to redeem through the cross, one people and eventually creation itself. The more Christlike we become the more we are aware of how unChristlike we are.

Jim would rather serve than be served, and would consider it an honor to serve our mighty and loving God along side you.

Jordan Beakley

Lay Elder

Wheeler Sexton

Lay Elder

Wheeler Sexton is a native Texan, born in Dallas but spending the majority of his life in the Conroe area. He and his wife, Angela were high school sweethearts and married in 2003 after 3 years of dating. Together they have two beautiful daughters- Lilah and Elaina.

In December of 2008, Wheeler graduated from University of Houston Downtown with a Bachelors in Computer Information Systems. That same year, he began his career at ExxonMobil where he continues to fulfill many different roles in their Information Technology group. After his graduation in 2008, Wheeler also spent almost 10 years serving in the Texas State Guard.

At the age of 8, Wheeler trusted Christ as his savior, but did not begin to truly seek the Lord until his high school years. In the fall of 2013, the Lord brought him and his family to C3 Magnolia where they have faithfully served in many capacities. Angela has been involved in kid’s ministry since they began attending C3 and serves on our women’s ministry team. Wheeler serves as sound technician for the worship team and assists with Community Group leader coordination and development. He has also participated as a member of the Pastoral Search Committee and Church Advisory Board. In the 6 years that they have been at C3, their community group has played a huge role in their family’s daily life and spiritual growth. Wheeler and Angela are both deeply committed to their Church family and are thankful to call C3 their home.

Justin Foster

Lay Elder

Justin was born in Little Rock, Arkansas into a Marine Corps family and moved all over the country growing up. He stopped long enough in Northwest Florida to finish High School there and to come back home from college for breaks. It was in one of those breaks that he met the love of his life, Dana, on Easter Sunday.

Justin graduated college in 2004 from The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, and was married to Dana within the year. Newly hitched, they moved to start their first big adventure together in Wake Forest, North Carolina, where Justin attended Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and graduated in 2009 with a Master in Divinity (M.Div) with a specialization in Apologetics.

The Lord had different plans from here, as Justin was commissioned in the. United States Marine Corps as a Second Lieutenant in 2010. For the next 9 years, as an Active Duty Marine, Justin and his family lived in coastal North Carolina and Northern Virginia, but he saw deployments across the country and globe including a combat tour in Helmand Province, Afghanistan in 2013. Through all this, Dana was embodying the tenacious military spouse by holding down the fort with 2 small children through childbirth, birthdays, and holidays while Justin was repeatedly gone for months at a time.

This time was a period of both struggle and growth with Justin serving as Lay Elder at Pillar Church of Jacksonville in North Carolina and subsequent deep involvement in a network of churches dedicated to church planting around Marine Corps bases called the Praetorian Project. Sensing a change of pace was best for their family, Justin decided to leave the Marine Corps life This would bring them a bit closer to family via a move to Houston for civilian employment at ExxonMobil IT. Justin now works in big tech as a Technical Program Manager.

In a surprise move to all, last summer Justin and Dana expanded their family of four to five. Complementing their older children Callie (14) and Benjamin (11) is Nathaniel James (3 mos). The family lives in The Woodlands and is honored to call Christ Community Church their home.

Fun fact – their first Sunday at C3 in 2019 was also Pastor Seth’s first Sunday he was announced!